Fundamental changes
in musical style took place in Italy
around 1600. The programme on this disc
documents these changes well with a
number of the emergent genres being
represented.

In the field of vocal
music Giulio Caccini proclaimed the
predominance of the text over the music.
This resulted in vocal pieces in a strongly
declamatory style which was also a feature
of the earliest operas. Examples are
Pietro Benedetti's 'Mori mi dici' and
Giovanni Francesco Capello's 'Strana
armonia d'amore'. At the same time strophic
madrigals were written, mostly termed
'arie'. Monteverdi, one of the most
important representatives of the declamatory
style, composed a number of them, for
instance 'Si dolce è il tormento'.
Another popular form was the strophic
song based on a basso ostinato – a bass
pattern repeated consistently throughout.
'Se l'aura spira' by Frescobaldi and
'Damigella tutta bella' by Calestani
belong to this category.

The principles which
changed the style of vocal music also
influenced instrumental music. The format
of one voice or couple of voices reciting
a text over a basso continuo was translated
into instrumental works for a solo instrument
or several instruments spinning a line
over a bass part. This was usually called
a 'sonata' – like Cima's 'Sonata prima';
the 'canzonas' by Frescobaldi follow
the same principle. These however had
little in common with the canzonas of
the 16th century, which derived from
vocal models. Two other genres of instrumental
music are represented: variations on
a theme – for instance the 'Partite
sopra l'aria di Monicha' by Frescobaldi
– and dance music, like the four pieces
by Andrea Falconieri (not Falconiero,
as the tracklist calls him).

The early 17th century
was also a time of experiment … with
harmony and with ornamentation. Sometimes
pieces could take on a pretty bizarre
character. The last piece on this disc,
'La vecchia innamorata' (the old woman
in love), is called "grotesque" in the
booklet. It certainly sounds rather
strange, but what the text says remains
a secret: the booklet doesn't contain
any lyrics.

This is only one of
the flaws of this production. This disc
could have been much more interesting,
if the programme had been more adventurous.
Some pieces in the programme – Marini,
Benedetti, Capello – are little known,
but most compositions are available
in other recordings ... and, on top
of that, in better interpretations.
The alto's top notes sound a bit stressed,
and the tenor lacks subtlety. There
is some strange ornamentation, and the
attempts to make some strophic arias
sound dramatic is misplaced. Calestani's
'Damigella tutta bella' was recorded
about three decades ago by the British
tenor Nigel Rogers, and his interpretation
was much better than Salvador Parron's.

The instrumentalists
don't do much better. Cima's sonata
is one of his best-known pieces, and
– apart from the fact that it is much
better suited to violin than to recorder
– the performance it gets here is little
more than mediocre. Frescobaldi's 'Partite'
are generally too slow, and this results
in the trills - the execution of which
isn't always flawless - sounding unnatural.
The dances by Falconieri are the best
part of this disc.

Unadventurous programming,
little more than mediocre performances,
omission of the lyrics from the booklet
and the unacceptably short playing time
make it impossible to recommend this
disc.

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